Hemospectrum
''Blood redirects here. For the aspect, see Blood (Aspect).'' The Hemospectrum is the spectrum of blood colors possessed by trolls, which forms the basis of their caste system, with social and biological implications. The blood of a lusus has the same color of its associated troll, implying that it is a large factor in the selection of a lusus. Andrew Hussie has confirmed that there are only twelve possible troll blood colors, excluding mutations. The cherubs possess different blood colors as well. However, their system is binary instead of a spectrum, with the color indicating a cherub's moral alignment – green for benevolent and red for malevolent. Social Aspects The caste system on Alternia is based on the color of an individual's blood. The hierarchy follows a rainbow, with red being the lowest and fuchsia being the highest. There are several terms covering chunks of the hemospectrum. Aradia refers to Tavros and herself (the two being the lowest on the hemospectrum) as "rust bloods," while Terezi, Vriska and Equius have all been referred to as "blue bloods." "Lowbloods" is used to refer to the lower half of the spectrum, and "highbloods" is used to refer to the upper half of the spectrum. "Midbloods" is used, rarely, to refer to olive to cerulean bloods, but the castes within it are usually referred to as lowbloods or highbloods depending on their position in the spectrum. Higher blood castes seem to have more lavish hives: both Equius' and Vriska's hives resemble castles as opposed to Aradia's humble hive. Both Eridan and Feferi wear jewelry as well. Karkat masks his blood color in anonymity by associating to a dark grey color due to his candy red blood, a mutation that places him and his ancestor outside the hemospectrum. Initially some of the trolls believed human blood works on a similar system, although only Equius, Eridan, and a sobered Gamzee seem to care much about the hemospectrum. Terezi is also very curious about human blood, specifically about how it tastes and smells. It is possible that the blood-color caste system may correspond with medieval class systems on Earth. Based on this supposition, purple blood would be high royalty, blue would be nobility of sorts, green would probably be lesser nobility, and red would be peasantry. The intermediary colors are harder to discern but may correspond to other roles in feudal society or may fall under the previously listed four groups. On Beforus the hemospectrum was used to set up a system of social welfare in which the higher blooded trolls take care of the lower blooded trolls. The system is one of receding responsibility. The fuchsia bloods (the queen and her heiress) are responsible for the well-being of all her subjects, while burgundy bloods are free from any duties to take care of other trolls. Each caste has an alphabet of 24 signs that are assigned to trolls, which are related to their aspect and their dream self's moon. This results in a total of 288 symbols for the alphabet. A troll is typically assigned a sign at birth, however the Sufferer and Kankri Vantas have no signs due to none being associated with their blood mutation. Notably, however, it is categorized under the limeblooded signs. Hemotyping Hemotyping is a tradition in troll society and potentially amongst cherubs where a person uses their blood color for writing and as the color of their symbol. While most of the trolls practice hemotyping, Karkat, due to his mutant blood color, refuses to partake in hemotyping, which causes Vriska to refer to Karkat's text as }}. Calliope and Caliborn both renounced hemotyping ; however, their symbols contain their respective blood colors as well as their gray text colors. Half of the Hivebent trolls use a slightly different shade for their text as opposed to their exact blood color; despite this they use the shade of their blood color for their symbols as opposed to their text color. The Homestuck Kids also type in text colors corresponding to their eyes, but obviously this has nothing to do with blood. Biological Aspects Blood color seems to have several biological consequences in addition to the social consequences of the caste system. Troll tears are apparently the same color as their blood, though more diluted in color. Trolls lower on the hemospectrum are more likely to have psychic powers, but are more psychically susceptible as a result. On the other hand, trolls higher on the hemospectrum seem to be physically stronger. Another obvious aspect is the different anatomy of land and sea-dwelling trolls. The latter sport fin-like protrusions and organs that allow them to live underwater. Yet more biological features are unique quirks found only in a single caste; for instance, all known Gold Bloods have two pairs of horns as opposed to the typical single pair. Equius remarks that Gamzee has the highest blood possible for a landdweller and is as such more prone to violence and murder than the rest of them, and that he dreads to think what he would be without the pacifying influence of his moirail. This implies that trolls gradually become more violent the higher they are on the hemospectrum and is mostly in line with the twelve trolls followed in Hivebent. The only exception seems to be Feferi, who, despite being at the very top of the hemospectrum, displays no negative tendencies, although she might only be suppressing them by force of will, since she was screaming while attacking an imp . On a possibly related note, Aradia starts displaying more violent behaviour after entering her blue blood-fueled Soulbot. In a dream bubble conversation, it was implied that high-blooded trolls are tougher than low-blooded trolls and likelier to survive grievous injuries. In the same conversation, Aranea states that the trolls' violent behavior is a result of 's conditioning of their race, implying that the high-blooded trolls may not be as unstable as was previously thought. A troll's lifespan is tied to the hemospectrum with the having lifespans similar to humans, with the lowest two being slightly shorter than humans with the lowest caste living for (roughly 30 to 50 years in human terms). Starting at the greens, lifespan and by the highest caste lifespans reach hundreds of thousands, potentially even millions, of sweeps. Mindfang, a cerulean blood, wrote in her journal that she expected to live for centuries and predicted the Summoner, who was destined to kill her, may very well not hatch for many sweeps, given the shorter lifespan granted by his lower position on the hemospectrum. Kankri stated that cerulean bloods with their centuries long lifespans could outlive hundreds of generations of burgundy, bronze, gold and lime bloods, and dozens of generations of midbloods. The lower castes are significantly more common than the higher castes - described as having strength in numbers, despite having a much shorter natural lifespan and an increased likelihood of being killed. Some castes have uneven sex ratios. Jadebloods are almost entirely female, the three blueblood castes (cerulean, indigo and purple) are mostly male, and fuchsia bloods have been consistently referred to as female (empress, heiress etc.). Also, higher castes seem to have sharper teeth and lower body temperatures. Blood Colors Candy Red Blood is an extremely rare mutation on Alternia. Karkat Vantas, his ancestor the Signless/Sufferer, and his dancestor Kankri Vantas, are the only trolls known to have this blood color. The Sufferer faced ostracism due to his mutation, and Karkat feared that the same would happen to him. Due to its rarity, there was no lusus in the Sufferer's time that would choose him and the Dolorosa raised him herself; Karkat was only afforded a lusus due to the actions of the followers of the Sufferer, who prepared for the birth of another candy red blooded troll due to the prophecies told by the Sufferer. It has also been called "bright cherry blood" by Calliope and Terezi, the latter of whom associates its "smell" with cherries. It is worth noting that Cancer's position in the Zodiac would place Karkat in the correct position in the Hemospectrum order of the post-Scratch trolls for a missing Lime Blood troll. Furthermore, his sign is regarded as a "Lime Sign" in the Extended Zodiac. This may suggest that Candy Red blooded trolls could be mutated Lime Bloods, mirroring the lime/candy red duality seen in Cherubs. The abilities inherent to candy red blooded trolls are not shown. Unlike other lowbloods, Karkat is never seen exhibiting psychic powers. However, he is shown to have a great knowledge of the way the quadrants work (although this may be due to the large amount of romantic movies and novels he has watched and read), and both he and the Sufferer have managed to form bonds that exist outside of the four known quadrants. Both have also managed to unite trolls of different blood colors against a common threat. This blood color is also known to exist in cherubs and is possessed by Caliborn/ . This color sets them as the malevolent mind in their body. Most other species in Homestuck have this blood color, chiefly humans, leprechauns, and carapacians. Burgundy Blood is the lowest blood caste in existence. Kankri referred to the color as "burgundy" in Openbound. "Rust" has been used on the album , but in the comic "rust" was used to simultaneously refer to the castes of Aradia and Tavros. Burgundy bloods are notable for having the shortest lifespans - having stated that they generally live only a dozen sweeps or two, or roughly 30-60 human years. They are the most likely to have psychic powers. This is a double-edged sword, however, as they are also the most psychically susceptible, and would be the first to die in the event of the Vast Glub. Despite this apparent vulnerability, Vriska is unable to use her powers to control Aradia . Aradia and her ancestor's psychic powers allow them to manipulate the position and velocity of objects. Using her tiara, the Condesce was able to emulate burgundy blood telekinesis, displaying Aradia's symbol and the same white aura . Damara was able to on LOMAX, through the concerted efforts of at least three of them at once, all the way from a dream bubble. Vriska that these telekinetic powers are common among the caste. Aradia also possesses the ability to summon ghosts, commune with them and command them to do her bidding. After her death, she continued to linger on Alternia as a ghost, using her psychic abilities to interact with her surroundings. Hiveswap has revealed that all rustbloods possess the ability to communicate with the deceased. Working together, the army of Aradiabots were able to from the Black King's Vast Glubs. Bronze Blood is the second-lowest class of blood. Trolls of this caste have also been called fudgebloods, and Terezi associates the blood's smell with chocolate. This was referred to as Bronze in both the music album and Gamzee's potion. Kankri refers to this blood caste as Umber; however, the term has never been used by post-scratch/Alternian trolls, and may be exclusive to Beforus. Tavros and the Summoner have the psychic ability to commune with and command the various beasts of Alternia (and in Tavros's case the Underlings of the Incipisphere, possibly due to their Lusus prototypings). According to Vriska , such abilities are typical of bronze bloods. It is not stated if Rufioh also shared in this affinity with animals, although both he and Tavros are avid players of Fiduspawn in which Tavros uses his abilities to commune with the game constructs. Troll Kevin James has bronze blood , as do some or all cavalreapers . Gold Blood is the third-lowest blood color. They are also very likely to have psychic powers. "Gold" is the color used in Gamzee and Jane's potion shop for a vial of Sollux's blood. All goldbloods seem to have two pairs of horns. They can be powerful psionics, with Sollux and the Î¨iioniic/Helmsman capable of using their mental powers to move massive objects at high speed; the Helmsman himself was used to power the Condesce's own battleship, making it the fastest out of all ships in her fleet. Folykl, on other hand, can drain others' psychic energy. Sollux is also capable of firing destructive blasts from his eyes, and the Condesce displayed the same ability while emulating goldblood psionic powers. Vriska that this specific set of powers is only common to mutants within the caste, which may explain the Captors' unconventional eyes. Sollux used his powers to make the bees from his beehouse mainframes sleep (which might be related to his ability to interfere with computer equipment ), but he cannot read minds . Most yellowbloods are gifted with "vision twofold". It should be noted that "vision twofold" is simply a reference to how Sollux still possessed his vision while having the ability to see the future (specifically, future deaths) unlike the traditional imagery of prophets being blind. In addition, both Sollux and the Î¨iioniic/Helmsman die due to the Vast Glub released by Gl'bgolyb while they are directly serving their fuchsia blooded companions; in comparison, Mituna dies at the hands of Meenah's use of the Tumor. In the era of the Signless, psychically gifted goldbloods were commonly enslaved as or . Given Kuprum's excitement, it's possible these practices are still in place during Hiveswap. Lime Blood was once a very common blood caste on Alternia, but was hunted to extinction by the others due to its members' possession of powerful abilities that threatened the authority. Calliope has stated that the lime bloods had Kankri Vantas refers to members of the caste as "yellowgreens", considering the term "lime blood" offensive due to its historical connotations, implying that the caste was historically oppressed on Beforus. The lime blood color was originally alluded to when the Grand Highblood was introduced, as there was previously unaccounted for. The existence of the color was later confirmed by Hussie, and was retroactively changed to feature . This lighter shade fits in the color wheel between Sollux's yellow and Nepeta's green, where Karkat sits when the group is arranged by the procession of their zodiac symbols, possibly suggesting that he (and, by association, the Sufferer/Signless) would be a lime blood if not for the cherry red blood mutation. This suggestion was strengthened by them being categorized among limeblood signs in the Hiveswap extended zodiac, where the lime color was further changed , along with Oliveblood, probably to make them more distinct from each other. Calliope is a cherub with lime blood and proceeded to elaborate on the lime blood caste of trolls; however, at that point nothing more was said on the hemospectrum of cherubs. When asked if she had the powers that lime blooded trolls have, she answered Calliope being a lime blood may relate to how she uses Commonwealth spellings, as an old derogatory slang for the British is "limey". The of lime blood amongst the cherubs is drastically different from that of the trolls, and looks similar to the web color harlequin. Slight variations of this color are used in Calliope's caduceus/asklepion symbol, in the colors associated with the depiction of Calmasis. Caliborn refers to her blood as "harlequin slime". Olive Blood is considered the "middle class", and the color is referred to as }} by Equius. Equius and Nepeta simply call it "green", but this may not be the specific term, as there are two other shades of green on the hemospectrum. "Olive" has been used to describe a potion of the same color, which was to be Nepeta's blood. No known olivebloods seem to have any sort of psychic power. This may indicate that somewhere in the green part of the hemospectrum, trolls start to be more likely to be born without psychic powers. This is also the blood color of Troll Will Smith's character on Thresh Prince of Bel-Air, and possibly Troll Will Smith himself. The threshecutioners included olive bloods within their ranks (as well as of unspecified hue). Jade Blood is rare among trolls, and trolls with this blood color are given a unique role in troll society. In the past, jade blooded auxiliatrices were tasked to tend to the Mother Grubs in the brooding caverns. On Beforus, they were a predominantly female caste and their duties also included caring for wigglers. All jadebloods seem to have horns with a hook of some kind. Kanaya, who is afforded the privilege of being brought up by a Virgin Mother Grub (" "), also eventually turns into a rainbow drinker (the Alternian equivalent of a vampire, who can withstand the planet's sun and radiates light) upon her death. Porrim became a rainbow drinker before her session began and the Dolorosa engaged rainbow drinker mode in one of the and not too much later. Kanaya and Porrim confirmed that being a rainbow drinker directly relates to having jade blood. Kanaya also stated that their caste must have developed these abilities after working in the dark birthing caverns, while Rose suggested that the ability could have been developed to scare predators away from young wigglers . Teal Blood is considered a high class in Alternian society. As a chromatic median between the green and blue castes, teal blooded trolls are not quite considered nobility, but still outrank the middle-class green blooded castes. Trolls of this blood color typically take civil servant positions, such as that of a legislacerator. According to Mindfang, typical lusii for this caste are cholerbears and spleenfowls, both implied to be big enough to carry their trolls. Trolls of this caste are generally involved with jurisprudence. Redglare was a legislacerator, the Alternian equivalent of a lawyer who also doubles as a bounty hunter, and Terezi hoped to one day also have such a role in the Alternian legal system. Both Terezi and Redglare also had dragons as their lusus, which Mindfang stated was quite unusual for someone, especially one of their blood color, to have. They also used their verbal prowess to affect others, rather than any sort of psychic ability. As Latula comes from Beforus rather than Alternia, it is not known what was expected of her as a teal blood. Cerulean Blood is the first rung of nobility. It is suggested that cerulean blooded trolls are unlikely to develop psychic powers. Usually this blood color is simply referred to as "blue," which can cause confusion as indigo blood is also referred to, and appears to be, blue. A potion based on her blood is referred to as cobalt, but Vriska herself called her blood "cerulean." Vriska Serket, her ancestor Marquise Spinneret Mindfang and her dancestor Aranea Serket are very powerful psychics who are able to manipulate the minds of others to bend to their whim. All of them also have vision eightfold, allowing them to peer within the Magic Cue Ball to discover its secrets. Aranea confirmed that psychic abilities related to mind reading and manipulation are an occasional phenomenon amongst cobalt blooded trolls. It is not known if this goes hand in hand with vision eightfold, or if this trait is simply unique to the paradox clones. Mierfa Durgas is stated to be a member of this caste by her creator but appears to be listed as Indigo in Hiveswap judging by the prefix on her 2D image. According to Porrim, this caste is male dominated, or at least it was on Beforus. Indigo Blood is the second-highest tier of blood amongst the land-dwelling trolls. They are considered part of the nobility, and as such they have a traditional rivalry/mutual kismesissitude with the sea-dwelling trolls. They are prone to violence as well because of their location on the hemospectrum. As with cerulean blood, this blood type is commonly called "blue," but the color has been alternately referred to as "indigo" when used as ink or in a potion. It is stated that Equius's enormous strength is unique to himself while his strength unawareness is a blueblood trait. It is unclear if the same goes for his ability to regenerate his teeth. Horuss is also stated to share Equius' great strength. While Equius's strength would enable him to be an effective ruffiannihilator, he would prefer to be an archeradicator (an elite archer of the imperial forces and a role shared by E%ecutor Darkleer), in keeping with his Sagittarius theme. Also, Equius, Darkleer, and Horuss are all skilled in robotics. Aradia became an indigo blood when her ghost inhabited the soulbot Equius constructed for her. As a result, she became much more violent (a trait absent from the lowblooded castes). Indigobloods have a reputation of being snooty and stuck-up. It is likely that the entire caste cares immensely about the hemospectrum, like Equius. The are known to include indigo bloods. According to Porrim, this caste is male dominated, or at least it was on Beforus. Purple Blood {{Quote|Purple Signs are the workaholics of the sign classes. Ambitious and driven, they have a very specific path in mind to reach the pinnacle of their field, and will work tirelessly toward it. However, if their practical brains convince them that their goal is unrealistic, they may be slow to trust anyone with the secret of their true desires. They are often very funny, their wit veering toward the dryly macabre. Their fatalism can be incredibly humorous or terrible, depending who you ask. Purple Signs are usually the people who will say out loud what everyone else was thinking but was too nervous to mention. They are very stubborn, and once they've made up their mind about something, whether it be a restaurant choice or a political affiliation, it is difficult to change. They have trouble admitting they were mistaken, and also that they are upset. An oft-repeated phrase of the Purple Signs is, "It's